Gilligan's Island Star Alan Hale Jr. Guest Starred In A Forgotten '50s Adventure Series

• Television
• Action & Adventure Shows

Few people may remember the adventure TV series "Northwest Passage," which aired on NBC for a single 26-episode season in 1957 and 1958. One might be tempted to conflate the series with the 1940 Spencer Tracy movie of the same title, which would be a fair misapprehension, as both were inspired by Kenneth Roberts' 1937 novel, "Northwest Passage," about the French and Indian War, fought between 1754 and 1763. For history neophytes, that was a conflict between the French and the British, with each side employing First Nation people as allies. 

The "Northwest Passage" TV series starred Keith Roberts as Major Robert Rogers, a real-life British soldier who formed a band of soldiers called Rogers' Raiders during the war. Roger was the character played by Spencer Tracy in the movie. Keith Roberts was joined by Buddy Ebsen, who played Sergeant Hunk Marriner, Don Burnett as Ensign Langdon Towne, and Philip Tonge as General Amherst. The series tells stories drawn from the first half of Kenneth Roberts' novel and focuses on minor skirmishes, spies, battles, and other conflicts during the war. The actual Northwest Passage of the novel isn't covered in the movie or in the TV series. 

"Northwest Passage" had an impressive raft of directors as well. Jacques Tourneur, the director of "Cat People," "I Walked with a Zombie," and "Out of the Past," helmed a few episodes, as did George Waggner, the director of "The Wolf Man." For the purposes of this article, we will also point out that Alan Hale Jr., of "Gilligan's Island" fame, appeared in the show's second episode playing a character named Sam Beal. 

Remember the TV series Northwest Passage?

For the record, the "northwest passage" of the title refers to an ambitious quest of the real Roger Roberts to find a water passageway from New England all the way out to the Pacific Ocean. The second part of the original novel covers this quest. It's not part of the movie or the TV show.

Most of "Northwest Passage" is available on Tubi, though sadly the episode that features Alan Hale Jr. — "The Red Coat" — isn't. Indeed, Episodes 1, 2, 9, 11, 13, 18, and 21 seem to have been excised for some reason. Episode 11 can be found on Pluto, at any rate. 

Thumbing through episodes of "Northwest Passage" reveals a stern, dramatic show about soldiers and their dramatic need to win the war. This is not a lightweight adventure program or a cheapie Western. This is a heady war program for dads. In one episode, the three heroes are captured by the French and thrown in a war prison. In another, our heroes catch wind that the local Mohegan people have been hired to assassinate British soldiers. Other episodes deal with smaller issues; it's hard to pay one's bill with counterfeit money. In the episode "Death Rides the Wind," a pair of ex-cons break into a trapper's cabin, only to find that he's infected with smallpox. This is dramatic stuff. 

Sadly, because "The Red Coat" isn't available in any ready-to-see format, and because TV archivists haven't bothered to find a synopsis, no actual plot details are forthcoming. Know that Alan Hale Jr. was a capable professional who could play heavies as well as comedic characters. He did, however, always prefer comedy, and adored playing the Skipper on "Gilligan's Island."

Yes, Northwest Passage is a little racist

A modern audience will have to look past the fact that "Northwest Passage," while striving for po-faced earnestness, still openly uses the term "Indian" to refer to First Nation people. What's more, many of the First Nation characters were played by Caucasian actors. It was the 1950s, however, and cultural sensitivity wasn't exactly at an all-time high. The language will definitely date "Northwest Passage." 

To remind readers, Alan Hale Jr. was a prolific actor whose screen credits began in 1941, with an uncredited role in "I Wanted Wings." He was in several college comedies as a young man, including "Sweetheart of the Campus" and "All-American Co-Ed," before moving into war pictures like "Wake Island" and "Eagle Squadron." From there, it was off to the races, as it were, with Alan Hale racking up multiple film and TV credits every year for multiple decades. 

One of Hale's first major credits was playing the title character in the spy-adjacent comedy series "Biff Baker, U.S.A.," about a married pair of American imposters who constantly stumble into international spy plots. He also played the title character in the one-season wonder "Casey Jones" from 1957. Even if Alan Hale had never landed the "Gilligan's Island" gig, he would be an actor of some note. It would take far too long to list all of Hale's credits here, so I'll point out a few at random. Hale was in episodes of "Mister Ed," "Bonanza," and "Hazel." He was also in that one "Batman" episode. 

Turning up in "Northwest Passage" was just another gig for Hale Jr. He was likely done shooting in a day or two before moving to the next set. He was nothing if not professional.